Red Aftermath
by jackslova13
Summary: The air gets dense, the Light extinguished, Time is falling away and Space is already long gone. No surprise here though. You know what's gone down. You're dead.


The air gets dense, the Light extinguished, Time is falling away and Space is already long gone. No surprise here though. You know what's gone down.

You're dead.

You're dead and you can't see a thing. And surprisingly enough for someone who is known as the blind girl, that hasn't happened to you in a very long time. It was, you think, just as quiet, just as empty in that past aftermath as it is now. _It's too empty_, you think, and you try to regain some memory of the last things you saw.

A surplus of red. _Heh. Irony is sweet_. But not as sweet as the arms that plucked you out, tried to heal you. Also candy red, excessively sweet cherry, but not unpleasant, more like a huge pile of riches than too much food in your stomach. Lips on yours, though you both know it's useless.

By that point you're in way too much pain to actually understand what's going on, but you do feel tears falling on your face, like ice because it's hot, way too hot, blazing heat going through your core. Pain and heat- that's what you've become, and all of it ties in with the one thing keeping you in this world. _Let me go_, you think but can't possibly say. _Leave me_.

Karkat shifts, and pain pulses through you, all over your skin. You must be teal all over at this point, you think as you hear chainsaw revs in the distance. And a roar- that _roar_- the roar of a jester of the worst sort- the trickster and the _fiend_. You must have reacted somehow because Karkat suddenly clutches you tight, and despite all the pain and all the anger and all the _heat_, you feel safe. You feel in control.

The last thing you see is red.

And then darkness. You suppose you'll end up in a dream bubble of some sort, but who knows? You could be a special case. _Straight to hell_, you imagine the judge above you say. And then the bailiff opens the door. But there's nothing there. You've already been through the fire. So what now?

Just as you think that a dream bubble materializes around you. _Just what I need._ You begin to feel the ground beneath you, and without opening your eyes you recognize it as your forest floor. You take a big deep breath in, and the colors flood into your hue-deprived mind. The teal of the trunks, the berry pink of the tree leaves. You don't even want to open your eyes, but you do sit up ve-ery slowly. An inch up the trunk, breathe out, another inch, breathe i- what's that? Black and cherry red and- _jade green? _As the colors register in your mind, you sit up more quickly and open your eyes.

"K4N4Y4?" You ask. What? How could she be here? She was with Karkat!

"Hello Terezi," she says, ever so calm. You understand. Sitting here makes you want to fall asleep. Or maybe that's just dying. Her hands are folded in her lap, and she's kneeling on the forest floor, looking around tentatively. She looks as surprised she's here as you are.

"1 THOUGHT YOU W3R3 W1TH K4RK4T! WH3R3 1S H3? WH4T H4PP3N3D?" You sit forward, suddenly eager to hear real world news. You want to get back in there, provide the support, be in the front lines. You want to _do_ something, and even though you're ready to fall asleep, you're itching to be alive. And you want to know who made it out alive.

"I Was With Karkat. We Were Just Exiting The Forest When We Saw You Fighting Gamzee," she says, scowling at the name of the clown. "And Then We Saw You, And, Um, Well," she pauses, "We Saw You Die. Well, Karkat Pulled You Out Of The Lava First, I Think You Were Mumbling Something About Justice," she finishes, shrugging.

"4ND WH4T 4BOUT G4MZ33?" you ask tentatively. You pretty much know what's coming, but you want the full story too.

"Yes, Well. Of Course I Went After Him. It Was Only Right," she nods at you, and continues. "I Brought Out My Chainsaw, But He Was Too Quick For Me. Your Cane Was On The Ground, So He Just-" she starts making a gesture, then stops herself, shrugging again. You nod in understanding. "I Have No Idea What Happened To Karkat Though".

You shake your head. You don't like this at all. Gamzee is undefeatable, judging by the amount of blood he shed in your stabbings. And Karkat- he just watched his two friends die, for jegus sake. He's not going to be at his fighting prime, that's for sure. The more you think about it, the more nervous you get. You rub at your eyes tiredly, longing for answers.

"I Guess We'll Find Out Soon Enough," Kanaya says, noticing your restlessness. She's reclining against a tree, clutching at herself like she's cold. It's too hot, in your opinion, but you're shivering too, and you can't seem to stop it. You just rest your chin on your hands, and wait.

Soon enough, Kanaya's curled up like a cat, eyes wide open, waiting, and your eyes are starting to close. You breathe out, and they open just a bit, breathe out again and they close completely. Teal invades your thoughts as you inhale, and drift, not truly able to sleep but nevertheless getting satisfaction out of closing your eyes. Teal, pink, little glimpses of red and black and jade, all cross you. You don't really dream. You don't think you can. Nevertheless, you are very surprised when red invades your thoughts and 'dreams', and you are startled back into consciousness. You inhale. You open your eyes.

"K4rK4t?"


End file.
